SciLearn Speaker Series: Presentation by Dr. Joe Kim
Presentation: Motivating Durable Learning: Focused Attention through Instructional Design
Friday, October 22, 11:30am – 12:30pm
In this session, Dr. Joe Kim will present his research based on this question: How do you deliver a high-quality educational experience to 6000+ students and maintain an academically rigorous program that motivates deep learning? Research from cognitive psychology on attention, memory and learning has informed pedagogical decisions to develop evidence-based interventions in education. A key focus has been to promote learning that is durable – extending beyond short-term testing into long-term retention of information that remains with the student after the final exam. In this presentation, Dr. Kim will discuss how academic performance is significantly improved with effective learning strategies that have been established in controlled lab studies and translated to the classroom. These practices work by strengthening long-term retention and depend on instructors to implement effective instructional design and students to take an active role in their own learning.
Profile: Dr. Kim is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour at McMaster University where he has 3 major roles. A common link among these is his desire to implement evidence-based practices to promote life-long learning.
- Director of Education & Cognition Lab. The lab studies how cognitive principles of attention, memory, and learning can be applied to improve education and training. Currently the lab has a co-PI, two post-docs, lab manager, 3 grad students, and each year we have about a dozen undergrad research students.
- Faculty Director of McCall MacBain Postdoctoral Fellows Teaching and Leadership Program. This program (through the generous support of the McCall MacBain Foundation) supports the leadership and education development of a cohort of postdocs from across the university.
- Principal Instructor for MacIntroPsych. Dr. Kim co-ordinates the innovative McMaster Introductory Psychology (MacIntroPsych) program which combines traditional lectures with interactive on-line resources and small group tutorials. Each year, over 6,000 students enrol in the program which has been prominently featured in Maclean’s, Globe and Mail, Toronto Star and numerous education media outlets.
If you have questions, please reach out to Hilary (hilary.sweatman [at] mail.mcgill.ca).